This was published 3 years ago
Brisbane e-scooter use returns to pre-pandemic levels
By Matt Dennien
Shared e-scooter use has bounced back to pre-pandemic levels of more than 5000 trips a day, as plans for e-bikes to join them on city streets are finalised in Brisbane City Council’s strategy for the fast-growing sector.
What has been described as a “quiet revolution” comes as the number of commuters returning to public transport hovers about the 70 per cent mark and motorists endure more congestion on city roads.
After a COVID dip, scooter rides in Brisbane are back to pre-pandemic levels.Credit: Bradley Kanaris
The now-ubiquitous Lime scooters appeared on Brisbane streets in November 2018, ahead of a second operator, Neuron, and a shared cap of 1000 scooters.
Before the pandemic hit, trips in Brisbane averaged more than 5000 a day. Usage dropped to almost 1000 trips a day at the peak of lockdowns in April, after Lime withdrew its scooters from the streets.
By December, the average number of trips approached 6000 before settling again closer to the earlier baseline, Brisbane councillors were told in a public transport committee meeting on Tuesday.
Speaking at a press conference, committee chairman Ryan Murphy said the council had received more than 900 submissions from residents and stakeholder groups during consultation on its draft e-mobility strategy, which closed last month.
“There is massive interest in this green form of transport,” he said, “and where other cities have said ‘no’ … Brisbane has said ‘yes’.”
Adelaide, Canberra and Darwin are the only other capital cities with operational shared e-scooter schemes in place. Either dockless bikes or e-bikes, which feature an electrical drive system to make travel easier, are also in place in all capitals except Brisbane and Perth.
Brisbane’s failed monopoly CityCycle deal with JCDecaux, set to be fully decommissioned by November about a decade earlier than contracted, paved the way for the city’s dockless e-bikes.
On Tuesday, Cr Murphy said the council had shortlisted tenders and were expecting the successful operator to start in July as a “quiet revolution” took place in the use of the technology.
Disability and walking groups have pointed to early safety concerns and ongoing issues with scooters being left on footpaths in their submissions, along with the potential for pedestrian collisions in shared spaces. Some also suggested the idea of law reform from the state government on speed limits.
Since July last year, Cr Murphy said, there had been 143 reported incidents involving the shared scooters, but it was difficult to track such data for private scooter users.
A finalised e-mobility strategy was expected to be released mid-year, addressing issues such as designated parking spaces through geo-fencing and repurposed CityCycle stations.
Asked about the possibility of subsidising some “last mile” trips outside the CBD, Cr Murphy said there would be a “role to play” for the council that was yet to be determined, but added the private sector rollout would be at no cost to ratepayers and instead see revenue flow to City Hall.
Griffith University transport researcher Matthew Burke said many cities in the US were also shifting to duopoly e-scooter models after earlier “free for all” approaches.
Dr Burke said teething problems in Brisbane had “declined significantly” as user behaviour and technology evolved.
Labor opposition leader Jared Cassidy said his team welcomed the strategy, but that it had come too late.
He said Labor had “little faith” the council could deliver it, pointing to the condition of footpaths in some areas that raised safety concerns.